Why were there so many serial killers in the 1960s through 1980s?

Violent crime statistics nosedived after leaded gasoline was banned.

The baby boomers lost their fucking minds.

That's right, R1. And who was affected by that leaded gas?

Everyone born before or after the mid 1920s was exposed to tetraethyl lead until the late 1980s r3. I remember gas station TV ads about "lead free fuel that performs as well as leaded".

Drug culture.

They haven’t disappeared. They’ve just gotten better at hiding the bodies.

It used to be a lot easier to get away with murder before DNA testing became available in 1986. I'm sure there were many truck drivers and other men who killed prostitutes rather than pay them. Any crazy idiot could choke someone and dump them in the woods somewhere. Now you have cell phones, DNA, and security cameras everywhere, it's a lot harder to cover your tracks.

Current estimate is 2k serial killers remain at large

1986? DNA testing was first used to convict a murderer in 1978.

R7 said it. Thread closed

R8

I’m unable to find anything that proves your statement but there are plenty of links to a 1978 murder that was recently solved using DNA. Could that be what you’re thinking of?

People are lazier and less motivated these days...serial killing seems like way too much work for the modern young folk, plus they dont have their own spaces to dismember victims in their bath..if their place even has room for a bath. And even if they started it they wouldnt stick with it, no staying power...so couldn't have the full serial killer status. . . Im kidding of course, but not really.

First murder conviction with DNA was in '87 and of course correlates with the drop off. You'd have to be awfully smart to keep up with the technology and plot and plan effectively to cover the crime. A lot of criminals just don't have the brain power. Also, it's just about impossible to live off-the-grid, pay cash for everything, and not be known, not leave a paper or electronic trail unless they commit to being homeless.

As far as having fewer serial killers before the 60s, I don't believe it's the case (per capita). Do we have any reason to believe there were fewer disordered killing perverts back then? Interdepartmental communication and coordination was more difficult and rare back then so connecting cases was difficult to impossible. The further you go back, there was probably a lot of naivete and disbelief that such monsters could exist so the possibility was probably not contemplated by a lot of police

Serial killers were not so easily identified before the 60s and were much more easily caught early after the 80s, hence the 'golden age'.

[quote] I'm sure there were many truck drivers and other men who killed prostitutes rather than pay them.

Because it's so much easier to kill someone than to pay them.

This is why.

Because they were driven to kill by encoded messages in The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy.

Dna testing started in the Ninties.

I also believe the internet gives potential serial killers and rapists an outlet for their psychopathic aggression which they didn’t have back then.

I think there are plenty of serial killers out there. We just have not found them yet. A lot of crimes go unsolved and unlinked.

R18 is on to something. The free and omnipresent availability of pornography online has surely diverted plenty of would-be violent sex criminals, up to and including some would-be serial killers. Advances in surveillance & forensic tech make getting away with those crimes more difficult as well.

bump

Cell phones.

In addition, the interstate highway system likely played a role in the rise of serial killers during that period.

A combination of factors. Easy pickings. Young kids were hitchhiking all over. Forensics was still in its infancy. Less technology in general.

[quote]Why were there so many serial killers in the 1960s through 1980s?

It was the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.

Age of Aquariu-us.

Aquarius.

Aquarius.

So there were a number of factors, some of which have already been menionted above:

1) DNA testing has advanced so it's much easier to catch killers now.

2) The creation of the interstate system made it much easier to kill people and then escape from the jurisdiction.

3) Before computers became widespread, it was much harder for various law enforcement agencies to share information.

4) Until the rules changed in the 80s, many law enforcement agencies would become very protective of murder cases that happened within their jurisdiction, and would resist working with other agencies who were trying to solve the cases.

Some of the smarter serial killers like Ted Bundy especially exploited #2, #3, and #4. He purposefully killed women from state to state and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction so the law agencies would have more trouble getting their acts together to catch him.

Abortion is the biggest factor in less crime.